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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25264063">The Big Jump</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jolimelon/pseuds/jolimelon'>jolimelon</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/keitaiijima/pseuds/keitaiijima'>keitaiijima</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, Mentions of Suicide, Suicidal language</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:08:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,175</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25264063</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jolimelon/pseuds/jolimelon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/keitaiijima/pseuds/keitaiijima</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>While walking home on the Shiroiwa bridge, Yuka Nakagawa catches her classmate Keita Iijima in what she assumes is a suicide attempt.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iijima Keita/Nakagawa Yuka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Big Jump</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Although no real suicide attempt is made in this fanfiction, there is language and situations that lead a character to think a suicide attempt is about to occur. Please read with caution if you believe that this is something that may negatively affect you. Despite this being a comedy, we want to keep our reader's best interests in mind. Without further ado, please enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the usual Thursday afternoon for Yuka. Tennis practice, followed by ice cream, and then a nice walk along the Shiroiwa bridge on her way home. It was her perfect routine, and one of the unusual times where she was by herself. Usually, she had her squad of girl-friends with her, and though she loved them and enjoyed joking with them more than anything, there was something nice about her post-tennis-practice-ice-cream-eating walk home. </p><p>It was early Autumn at that point, meaning that the weather wasn't cold just yet, but the worst of the summer heat had long passed by. She was still able to walk home in her uniform without freezing, so that was a plus. </p><p>Something unusual happened on that day, however. As she approached the Shiroiwa bridge, a tall bridge that she crossed out of the park and into the heart of the town, she heard yelling. Not many people crossed the bridge at that time of day, and it was doubly as unusual to see or hear any sort of drama. Taking a few extra, quiet steps, Yuka walked off the dirt path and into some bushes that were beside the bridge, peering over the side to make sure that she wasn't about to run into some chubby-teen-mugging delinquent. Peeking over as she held her breath, Yuka was shocked to see that the mystery person was none other than her classmate, Keita Iijima.</p><p>Keita was pacing on the bridge, an almost pained expression on his face. He had his head bowed down, eyes focused on his phone, as he seemed to be yelling to himself.</p><p>"Noo! I can't take this anymore! I'm so done!" he exclaimed, tears filling his eyes and his hands shaking, making it look like the phone would fall out of his grip any second now.</p><p>"Why do I always gotta deal with these things alone?! I knew they'd all let me down. What's even the point?!"</p><p>His tone revealed just how frustrated he was, and he groaned loudly, leaning against the bridge. </p><p>"I know what I gotta do..." he whispered, now a look of determination appearing on his face.  He was not one to second guess himself too hard. He saw something he wanted and he went for it. Piece of gum on the ground? Yep, picked that up and ate it. Alpaca on a farm? Yep, let that loose. And now...</p><p>Staring at his phone, he took a deep breath.</p><p>Seeing him clearly upset was a shock to Yuka. Though she hadn't gotten to know Keita too well yet, he'd always been goofing around whenever she did interact with him. They got along pretty well, and she always considered him a fellow goofball which gave them unspoken solidarity with each other. Yuka eyed curiously as Keita stared down at his phone, possibly about to make a phone call? Yuka had to admit she was getting invested in whatever drama was about to go down. Maybe he was about to call somebody and chew them out? In that case, pass the popcorn and get ready for a new topic during lunch tomorrow, ladies.</p><p>"You'll all miss me when I'm gone! Especially you, Shinji!" Keita suddenly yelled out again. He raised his hand with the phone in it, looking like he was about to throw it into the water for a moment. Hesitating, he lowered it.</p><p>"No... I want them to know they did this to me! I want them to know they ended me! It's what they deserve!" he cried dramatically, texting furiously on his phone as he spoke. Whatever was going on, he seemed to be part of a heated discussion with someone.</p><p><i>Gone? Ended me?</i> Yuka's eyes bugged out, <i>No... He couldn't mean... Could he?!</i></p><p>“I’ve already decided it and nobody can stop me!” Keita shouted into the cellphone he was holding, “I’m offing myself and that’s final! By the time one of you bozos get there, it’ll be too late!! I have no other choice!” </p><p>Yuka gasped, covering her mouth with her hands to stifle the noise.  She watched as Keita slammed the cellphone shut and shoved it into his pocket. With a deep breath, he stood on the ledge of the bridge and put his hands in his pocket. Despite the outburst he’d just been having, he looked at peace with his decision.</p><p>What was the right thing to do? Obviously Yuka couldn’t stand by and watch the suicide but was she really capable of preventing it on her own? Should she call emergency services and risk them taking too long to get there?</p><p>Standing there, Keita looked forlorn and defeated. His feet teetered on the edge of the dock, staring out into the vast lake. The wind fluttered the hair from his face, and he closed his eyes. </p><p><i>Holy shit, he’s going to jump,</i> Yuka thought in panic, <i>My classmate is going to kill himself!</i></p><p>Not knowing what else to do, Yuka jumped out from hiding and yelled, “Hey! Iijima! Don’t do it! I know your life seems pretty pathetic but it’s still worth living!”</p><p>The boy startled at the sudden voice and turned around, nearly losing his footing in the process. Yuka ran forward, intending to grab him and pull him back off the edge. What happened instead, however, was her toes kicking the side of the edge of the dock, not having predicted such a lift. Losing her footing, Yuka fell from the dock with Keita Iijima tightly in her grip. The fall itself was not a very long one at all. The two fell deep into the water, but surfaced shortly after, completely unharmed.</p><p>Surfacing out the top of the water, Keita spit out a mouthful of water, struggling to wipe the hair from his face with his hands. “What’d you do that for?!” he yelped. </p><p>Yuka shrieked at the coldness of the water, “You were trying to kill yourself! I had to stop you!”</p><p>Splashing around, Keita was trying hard to keep from drowning. Luckily the water was pretty shallow because he had hardly enough swimming skills to even stay alive.</p><p>"What the frock are you talking about, dude?!" he asked, stunned, accidentally splashing Yuka too thanks to his exaggerated arm gestures. "Kill myself?! What kind of after school special do you think this is?!"</p><p>"Huh?!" Yuka bellowed, hearing her own voice echo beneath the vacant Shiroiwa bridge. She could barely keep her eyes open with all of the water being splashed in her direction, but still managed to reply, "But--- But on the phone! You said you were going to off yourself?! And that everybody will miss you when you're gone?! Especially Shinji?!?!"</p><p>Keita stared at her, despite the water making his vision blurry too. He wanted to be safe on dry and warm land soon, but did not have the skills to get himself up from the water alone. Yuka would have to drag him later. Either way, he was too fascinated by her conclusion to focus on that now.</p><p>"Off myself?!" Keita repeated, equally surprised. He had several times felt like someone was plotting his murder. But the idea of doing it himself had never ever occurred to him. "What are you... - Oh!"</p><p>Immediately, Keita realized what she was talking about. "The GAME!" he exclaimed with a sigh.</p><p>"Nakagawa... I'm just playing Weekday on my phone. My bros were supposed to meet up with me in the game and kick some butt, but they all totally let me down! Only Nobu showed up. <i>Nobu!</i> He might as well not have bothered, how he dragged the group down..." Keita began to rant, with a deep sigh. "In the end, I just had to kill myself! It was better than living like a failure with him! "</p><p>Listening to the insane explanation, Yuka wasn't sure whether she should laugh or smack Keita. She made the quick decision to do both. Flailing her arms forward against Keita's shoulders, Yuka exclaimed, "You're kidding me! A video game?! A--- A video game?! You were being that dramatic over a game?! Iijima, it sounded like you were really going to kill yourself by jumping off the bridge!" <i>Even though I now realize that that wouldn't be possible, given that we're both alive right now... </i></p><p>Keita shivered as well, absolutely drenched. He could understand the misunderstanding, but he still glared at Yuka as she hit him.</p><p>"If you really tried to save me, it was a pretty bad attempt, Nakagawa! You'd have killed us both!" he joked, before looking away at her question. He was currently staying afloat thanks to flailing his legs, combined with having one arm wrapped around Yuka's waist.</p><p>After she had composed herself, Yuka took a deep breath, the chill of the lake water now striking her deep to the bone. "Come on," She said, "Lets swim to the shore!" A seconds hesitation followed before she asked, "You can't swim, can you?"</p><p>"So what?! Not like I need to swim on a day to day basis! There's very little... ponds... In Shiroiwa!" he pouted. "It's never been a problem until like... Right now!"</p><p>"You were emotional at the edge of a bridge! Seems like a pretty solid idea for somebody who can't swim! If you fell in by yourself and nobody was around, it really would've been suicide, y'know?!" Yuka countered, shook her head. "Lucky for you, I'm a pretty good swimmer! Hold on tight, this gal's gonna take you to the shore!"</p><p>Keita kept his arms wrapped around her, putting all his faith in Yuka's ability to save them both. Which seemed like a big leap of faith, but still, better than trusting himself to do it.</p><p>"My hero!" he exclaimed, squeezing her slightly tighter. "How did you get so good at this?! Did you go to like... swimming camps or something?!"</p><p>"No, nothing like that!" Yuka replied with a laugh. She did her best to swim supporting both her and Keita's weights, while also keeping her head above the surface so she could talk simultaneously. "I play tennis so my arms are super strong! Also... I never skipped the swimming days in gym class but I'm guessing you did, huh?"</p><p>Keita's head bopped up and down, causing him to swallow mouthfuls of water every now and then, try as he might to keep it above the surface.</p><p>"Don't be crazy, Nakagawa! I've skipped most days in gym, not just swimming!" he said jokingly, relieved to see the shore approaching quickly. Luckily the river was not too wide, and safety was not far away.</p><p>"I know this is probably shocking, but I'm just not super graceful! I'm good at like... Some e-sports, but that's it, man. If this was swimming in like Mario Vs Sonic at the Olympics, I'd totally be winning!"</p><p>"Mario vs Sonic at the Olympics happens to be another talent of mine!" Yuka joked. Obviously that was a lie, she only knew what half of those weirds meant, but banter with Keita came easily.</p><p>Not long later, the two had reached a point of the water where they could stand on the ground, the water reaching their ankles in height. "Thanks for travelling with Yuka swimming services, would you like to pay now or start a tab?" She asked as she shimmed out of Keita's grip.</p><p>Keita reluctantly let her go, not sure if he should feel safe yet or not, despite being on land. He wrapped his arms around himself, attempting to warm up his cold and wet body.</p><p>"Brrr. I guess I'm gonna choose the tab. Whatever cash I had on me is probably dissolving right about now!" he joked. The joke being that he obviously did not have any cash on him, ever.</p><p>"Or I can pay you back with other services?" he suggested, now with a playful smile and an attempt of a sexy wink. "I think you know what I'm talking about... I can knit you an awesome pair of mittens!"</p><p>Yuka couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion, clinging on to the sides of her blazer as she tried to warm herself. She couldn't lie- a pair of knit mittens sounded amazing right about then if only Keita could stitch a set out of thin air. Regardless, winter would be coming up anyway, so the idea still didn't seem half bad. </p><p>"Do you really knit? Eh, even if you don't, now you gotta learn! I'd totally take a pair, not even joking," Yuka laughed. Somewhat changing the topic, she added, "I live not far from here, why don't you come over and we can get your clothes dried up and stuff? I kinda feel bad about- y'know technically pushing you in. I'd hate to see you catch a cold too!"</p><p>Keita's eyes widened at this opportunity. Visiting a girl's house? Awesome. Unsurprisingly, it would be a first for him. Even if it was just a favour to help warm up him (And we all know what that means. <i>Wink, wink,</i> Keita thought with confidence), it was still an offer he could not refuse.</p><p>"Eeeh. Yeah. Totally. I dry off at girls' houses all the time. That's so chill," Keita heard himself lying in an attempt to sound cool.</p><p>"Don't tell me... That's really why you pushed me in in the first place, Nakagawa! This is all a big scheme to get my clothes off?!"</p><p>Even though he was joking, he mentally noted that this might be a great plan in the future, if he ever caught Chigusa in front of a fountain or something.</p><p>Yuka feigned a long, long (really, it lasted like 30 seconds) gasp in offense, ending her joke with a "How did you see right through me?" Before bursting into a laugh.</p><p>The two walked alongside each other on the path to Yuka's house, the occasional shiver coming from either one. To pass the time, Yuka began to talk, "I was really shocked when I thought you were trying to... <i>You know</i>... I was like 'Iijima, no way?! He's a nice kid and he always seems to be having a lot of fun!' and it made me feel bad for maybe never noticing that you were sad enough to take your own life so I'm really relieved that you were actually talking about a video game instead."</p><p>Keita still had his arms wrapped around himself, which did little to warm him, as his arms were as cold and wet as everything else. </p><p>He sent her a curious look. </p><p>"C'mon. Me, sad?! What's there to be sad about? Like I'd ever do anything to miss the two for one pizza deal from the corner shop on Fridays, or the release of that new Zombie game next month. Or Shinji's birthday! I got a big surprise planned for him, he'll love it! I just have to make sure I don't upscale Yutaka too much, that poor guy really thinks they are the true best friends..." he sighed dramatically, shaking his head with a small smile.</p><p>Suddenly, he realized something, now looking at Yuka with a more surprised expression.</p><p>"Waaaait. You notice me having fun? You like... Look at me? Is it because I'm all handsome?!"</p><p>Listening to Keita list all of the reasons to live, Yuka felt washed over by a sense of relief. At least she wouldn't have to worry about him jumping into traffic on the way home or something. Again, she laughed. "No, nothing like that! It's because you're always laughing so darn loud!" Yuka answered, using her hands to gesture as she spoke, "I'm obviously not judging! I love a good laugh so I've always thought it was nice that you and your friends are always laughing together so much!"</p><p>Keita laughed as he accepted this compliment.</p><p>"Yeah. People always think Yutaka is the funny one but you know, I got my moments! I always have Shinji roaring with laughter. Usually, when I like, walk into stuff or fall over, but I totally embrace that physical comedy!" he said proudly, despite those mentioned incidents never being on purpose.</p><p>"Physical comedy is very underrated in these times!" Yuka concurred, stifling a laugh as her mind played through a compilation of the many times she had seen Keita wipe out throughout the years. </p><p>Keita noticed Yuka's steps slowing down as they approached a house, and figured it meant this was where she lived. He looked up at it, almost fascinated. <i>Wonder if a girl's room smells better than mine,</i> Keita thought. Then again, the girl in question was Yuka, so maybe not.</p><p>It was only as they stood in front of Yuka's house that she wondered how to explain to her parents what had happened and why she and an unfamiliar boy were both soaking wet in the middle of Autumn, but upon glance into the driveway, she realized that the coast was clear for the time being. "No parents, you know what that means..." She jested, "Ordering Hawaiian pizza on mom's credit card once we get out of these wet clothes!" </p><p>"Hawaiian pizza?" Keita asked her, his mouth watering. Damn. Maybe he had to marry this girl after all.</p><p>Suddenly, Yuka began to jog up the driveway and onto the porch, gesturing for Keita to follow closely behind. Once welcomed in, Keita looked around, taking in the family photos and artifacts placed in the living room, while Yuka cranked the heat and immediately set out to find warm towels and a change of clothes for them both. </p><p>Since the Nakagawa family was mostly larger-sized, her father's clothing would hang off of Keita, but it was the best she could do. She tossed him a set and a fresh towel, and said, "I'll dry our wet clothes so put these on so I don't have to stare at your string bean body until then! I'll go change in the kitchen!" which earned her a grin from Keita.</p><p>"Pfftt. You'd be so lucky if you got to see me shirtless. But thanks," he said, waving the change of clothes up in the air. </p><p>As Yuka left, Keita quickly got undressed and threw the dry clothes on. Running the towel through his hair also just took a couple of seconds. It felt nice to feel some warmth again. </p><p>Still left alone, Keita wondered what to do. Being curious by nature, he could not help but poke and touch every little thing he saw on the shelves. One particular glass figurine of a monkey of some sort got pushed a little too hard, and he accidentally knocked it over, breaking it onto the floor. It was tiny, so he quickly picked the pieces up and dropped them in a nearby vase.</p><p>"Ooops. oh well," he mumbled, hoping no one would notice.</p><p>Hearing a glass smash, Yuka peaked over the corner, just as she had finished drying off her own hair. Just for her own amusement, she watched as Keita picked up the glass figments and toss them where he thought nobody would notice. "Damn, good thing you just narrowly missed my grandma's urn," She said with a laugh as she entered the room. </p><p>Sitting on the couch, she gestured for Keita to take a seat too. "Hawaiian pizza is on the way, by the way! I ordered from the kitchen!" </p><p>Keita jumped a little as he realized Yuka had seen his clumsy accident with the figure but decided to run with it as if nothing had happened. Instead, he focused on the positive.</p><p>"Awesome! Can't wait. I haven't had pizza since yesterday, so it's about time, heh."</p><p>As the two sat, a bit of a silence in the air, Yuka suddenly spoke in a serious tone, "Speaking of my grandma, actually, when I was just a kid, she committed suicide," She wasn't sure why she was telling Keita this out of the blue, as she hadn't told her friends before, "I was too young to really realize it at the time. I don't know why she did it... Nobody really does. She was so funny and always laughing. So it just goes to show, you never know what somebody is thinking." She looked at Keita with an apologetic glance as she said the last part, "But... Now that I think about it, I guess the Shiroiwa bridge isn't exactly lethal, huh? Guess my imagination got the best of me there!"</p><p>When Yuka began speaking more seriously, Keita felt himself tense a little. He was not one for serious discussions; they made him uncomfortable and immediately look for an excuse to tell a joke. But what kind of joke is appropriate for Grandma who killed herself? Probably not many. </p><p>"Huh," he ended up saying, not really adding too much to that personal information she had just shared. "That's... Rough and stuff. Okay, I didn't mean to do like, a rhyme. I'm being serious. That sucks," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.</p><p>"I just don't know if I'm really deep enough for you to worry about that. It's like... What you see is what you get, you know?! I think that's maybe the case with most of us guys! Like Shinji and Yutaka... I can always totally read them like open books!"</p><p>At Keita's reassurance, Yuka couldn't help but smile, glad to hear that he thought of himself as an open book and no cause for concern. "Yeah?" She replied, "I sorta assumed that but then I heard the way you were talking and I was like- damn, how didn't I notice? Thank God I just jumped you instead of calling emergency services, huh? That would've been a tough one to explain to a policeman!" She teased.</p><p>Keita laughed.</p><p>"Maaan! The last thing I need is the police lecturing me about a misunderstanding again," he said, thinking back to the alpaca incident. "I mean... It's better to go for a swim, or like, an almost drowning in my case, and catch a small cold, than being written up for wasting their time, right?"</p><p>He smiled back to her, before glancing down, feeling like maybe he owed her some seriousness in return.</p><p>"Really, though, Nakagawa... Thanks for caring and stuff. I guess it's the same thing with you, where you're always just happy and joking and... I mean, I dig that. But you got a big heart too. Obviously. I don't think everyone would care like you do," he said, not looking at her, instead picking on his chewed down fingernails.</p><p>At the sudden thanks, Yuka felt her eyebrows raise, the corners of her lips turning into a curious smile. A hint of seriousness from Keita Iijima? Of course, she'd never seen this side of him and watching as his eyes nervously diverted their attention, she couldn't help but laugh, knowing the gesture took a lot from him. "Yeah? I'm a pretty awesome girl, huh?" She laughed, "Imagine if it was Oda that came across you... He'd probably push you in... and then turn around and push me in just for an extra laugh!"</p><p>"Please. He'd already be sitting on a lilypad down in the pond, waiting for us!" Keita joked, nudging her. He was very grateful she had turned the situation back into a joke, immediately putting him at more ease.</p><p>"Right! How could I forget that?" Yuka burst out laughing for a moment, letting out a bit of a snort as she did. "Good one, Iijima!" </p><p>"Guess I really need to learn how to swim or something, right? For the next time someone gets the chance to try to get rid of me like this?"</p><p>"Learning to swim couldn't hurt, especially if you make a habit of yelling at the edge of bridges!" Smiling, she added, "I can teach you over the spring if you want! At the rec center! That way, by the time it's spring, all of your friends will be totally blown away by your new skills!"</p><p>Keita looked at her, nodding his head eagerly.</p><p>"Yeah? You'd do that? That means I can finally do water aerobics... I've been dying to for years!" he exclaimed. His grandmother always made it sound so thrilling.</p><p>"And it'd be nice to blow them away with something other than the intensity of my farts for once. Everyone likes a good change, right?" he said in a joking tone, despite it being facts.</p><p>Keita found himself thinking it was really nice to spend this kind of time with Yuka. He had almost forgotten all about her being a girl, and that this was his first time being alone with one. It was like being with one of his guy friends... Except one with nicer breasts.</p><p><i>Sorry, Shinji, she's got even you beat there,</i> Keita thought.</p><p>With her signature double thumbs-up, Yuka declared, "Of course! Water is kind of like our thing now so might as well embrace it! That and..."</p><p>Before Yuka could finish her sentence the doorbell rang, and the two looked at each other with wide toothy grins. Then, at the same time they yelled.</p><p>"Hawaiian Pizza!"</p>
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